James

James

Historical Background: 

At the time that James was written the Jews were being dispersed throughout the world due to persecution (1:1-3).  During this time, there were various false teachings been spread. The Jews would most likely have had to face false doctrines while they were being separated from other believers. The author of James was James, the brother of Jesus. James most likely would have had related well with the Jewish believers because He himself was a Jew and he had lived with Jesus. 

Character and Nature of God:

James reveals that God is a Giver. In James 1:5 it says that we can ask our generous God for wisdom and He will give it to us. James also says that every good and perfect gift comes down to us from God. God loves to give. He gives blessings to those who are persecuted and eventually gives them a crown of life (1:12). 

Reason Written:

The book of James was written to give the Jewish believers practical instructions for how to go about living out their faith. Because the Jewish believers were being scattered abroad (1:1) and because of the reality of false teachers, it was important that they were aware of how to go about living out their faith. James also writes to encourage these Christians because they were undergoing persecution at this time (1:2,12,13). 

Main Idea: 

The main idea from the book of James is that faith consists of actions along with belief. James reveals that faith without works is not actually faith (2:14-26). James gives many practical instruction for how to go about living out faith. He talks about the importance of the tongue and how it can cause great damage (3:1-12). He also gives various other commands such as instructing them to live a honorable life doing good works (3:13), warning them about jealousy and selfish ambition (3:14-15), commanding them not to speak evil of others (4:11) and also commanding them not to grumble against others (5:9).